Misc. Day – Hexed Sense

From the first crashing waves of the feedback and distortion bearing guitar and bass, there is an aura behind Monolord. They accompany with the occult, the destructive, and the strange in a musical triangle that becomes more intriguing and more filled with wonder than fear.

On their 2015 release Vænir, thereis the audio embodiment of both pleasure and pain. In a twisted sense, Monolord is heavily reliant on creating these large swoops of sound that form the real direction of each track. While slowed, Monolord moves through as a persuasive batch that is dependent on each others movement to truly prosper. In a way, Væniris more of a jump into the unknown as Monolord begins with “Cursing The One.”

The moments of building noise that lead the listener into the sudden battlefield of sound is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Monolord takes the listener by the hand and then suddenly subjects them to a surprise assault of sluggish chords, bass growls, and percussion that actually crashes to create these rings throughout the movement. “Cursing The One” is a solid introduction to a six-track dive through warped lyrics, experimental instrumentation, and an approach to creating despair as a sound.

Surprisingly movement orientated, Mika Häkki and Thomas Jäger create whirls of sound through the bass and guitar combination while keeping a tortious-esque shell over the band. Esben Willems handles the percussion that clasps and slams along to the vocal performance from Jäger that sounds distorted but fitting along the path. Through just three members, Monolord is able to capture and play with a sound that is surprisingly punishing even from a metal standpoint. The hydra shifts together and ultimately becomes a driving force to push Monolord into the mid-point with “Nuclear Death”.

Similar in style to what has been previously presented; “Nuclear Death” rides on the wave of heavy bass and rhythm riffs to create a backbone. The sound is engaging and fills the void with a final push to hit the midpoint. As the middle arrives, Monolord stays in a consistent grind to make a cycle of sound. It captures the listener and traps them in a gripping whirlwind of fury that never becomes unrelenting throughout Vænir.

It is this style that ultimately moves into “Died A Million Times” where the cover of Vænir shows a sense of reflection into the sound. The figure stepping into the murky water is similar to how the listener is thrown into the darkness of the album, the real pit of power.

While ultimately feeling as one continuous track, Monolord is intelligent in the way the spacing of the album works. Not only is there a sense of ability behind the band, but the togetherness creates a bond of strength. This bond stays consistent and works in a favor to illustrate Monolord’s bone-breaking crush even into the final darkness that ends Vænir.

Listen To Vænir Here!!! – BandCamp/Spotify/iTunes